Chapter 21
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 21
Chapter Title: Mentoring Program (7)
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“Hey, Cain!”
“Ah, sis, you’re here?”
“Hello, Cain bro!”
“...”
I ran into Tanya’s party near the tier transfer hall in the center of Labyrinth City that morning, the day we’d applied to explore the labyrinth.
Just like yesterday, Robin and Tanya were sticking so close they looked like a couple, while Roy was staring holes into the parchment I’d given him.
Tanya had no gear on her, and Roy and Robin had split the stuff she’d bought yesterday between them, strapping on backpacks and shiny new equipment.
Following my advice from yesterday, Tanya had thrown a light robe over her usual outfit. Roy looked ready for the front lines with a big shield and a club at his hip. Robin had a one-handed sword and buckler equipped.
All that gear together must’ve cost at least one gold, right?
“Robin? No helmet?”
“Haha, it’s just the first floor. Helmets get in the way, block your view and all.”
“What about you, Roy?”
“...”
They all had decent-looking breastplates and greaves—including Tanya—but none of them were wearing helmets.
And after Tanya had put in a good word yesterday, Robin’s wariness had dropped a lot. He was trying to act friendly now.
“But… Cain bro, uh… can I call you bro? What’s with all the luggage…?”
“Oh, our party has me doubling as the pack mule.”
“...”
“For real? You must be pretty strong, Cain~”
Mol-cang—
Tanya, squeezing together breasts that barely needed it, sidled up and rubbed them against my arm, looking up at me with loaded words.
Wink!
If it were the first day we met, Robin might’ve gotten territorial, but he didn’t say a word. Weird. Anyway, we had to head into the labyrinth first to get a better read on their dynamic.
“Let’s wait till noon before heading in, then.”
“Question! Cain, why wait till noon?”
She really didn’t absorb a thing from the training, huh.
“Makes timekeeping easier if you enter around noon.”
“Aha?”
“Roy? You bring those hourglasses you bought yesterday?”
“Ah… yeah.”
At my words, Roy—who’d been glued to the parchment—instinctively hiked up his waistband to show off the 4-hour, 8-hour, and 12-hour hourglasses dangling there.
“Alright, wanna grab a quick bite first?”
“Sounds good! Roy~”
“...Uh… y-yeah, got it!”
Naturally, I ended up on Tanya’s left, Robin on her right, with Roy leading us to a nearby stall for a simple meal.
Of course, Roy footed the bill.
By noon, as we reached the tier transfer hall entrance, the three of them gawked with mouths agape.
“Whoa… it looked huge from afar, but up close it’s insane. Cain, we just go in here for the labyrinth?”
“Yeah…”
“...Gulp!!”
“You enter the portal inside to access the tiers. That’s when you’re properly in the labyrinth. This place is kinda the boundary between the city and the labyrinth.”
The dome-shaped structure called the tier transfer hall was about the size of Seoul World Cup Stadium, a simple grayish dome with a massive archway entrance on the north side.
The entrance was around 20-30 meters wide and 10 meters tall, plenty of room even for crowds.
“Shall we head in?”
“I-It’s scaary…”
“No big deal, sis. Just relax. Roy, start your hourglass.”
“Ah… okay!”
“Bro…”
Now that we were actually going into the labyrinth, they were all jittery and fumbling around. I gave my own hourglasses at my waist a flip too.
That’s when it happened.
“Gaaaaah!!!”
“J-Joel!!!”
“Damn! Labyrinth curse!!”
A party that looked like they’d just finished exploring rushed past us toward the city side. One of the guys started screaming as a dark red aura poured from his body.
“Cain! Wh-what is that…?”
Startled by the sudden screams, Tanya trembled and pressed right up against me.
“Oh, perfect timing. I was just gonna explain. When you cross from the hall to the city and your body emits that dark red light, it means you’ve got a labyrinth curse. But…”
Crunch-crunch!!!
“Gaaaaah!!!”
“Nooo!!! Honey!!!!”
“Mitchell, no!! That’s!!!”
With a gruesome sound, the man collapsed to the floor. His body swelled and shrank like a balloon being inflated and deflated over and over.
“Eek!!!”
“B-Bro… that’s?”
“Yeah, even the church can’t fix that one… whoa…”
It was the worst labyrinth curse, the one they say hits if you’re really unlucky: beastification. And it was unfolding right in front of us in real time.
I’d heard about it during my two years in Labyrinth City, but this was my first time seeing it live. I tried to play it cool in front of the newbies, but damn, it was horrific.
His girlfriend—or whatever—kept sobbing and trying to reach him despite her party’s protests.
“Hold on, let me check.”
Security team members who’d heard the commotion approached. They grabbed her arms and dragged her away as they formed a circle around the fallen man.
“Huuuh… nooo, if we get the chuuurch!!! We can save him, pleeease!!!!”
She finally shook them off and clung to the legs of what looked like the security captain, begging.
“Beastification confirmed. Dispose of it.”
""""Yes, sir!""""
Shaaaack!!!
“GRAAAAAH!!!”
His swelling skin burst like a balloon, transforming into a massive, grotesque monster.
The security team thrust their spears into it.
“Noooo!!! Nooooo!!!!!”
Stab!!!
Thud!!
Stab!!
Splat!!!
“Kieeeek!!!”
The woman’s wails and the monster’s agony echoed briefly before it collapsed.
“Rookie, call the cleanup crew. Everyone else, back to post.”
""""Back to post!!!""""
The greenest-looking security guy bolted toward the aid station while the rest returned to their spots near the entrance.
“Ugh… urp!!”
“Ugh… insane…”
“...!!”
Tanya, witnessing it all up close, started dry-heaving. Roy and Robin looked pale as ghosts too.
“Whew, I’d only heard about it for two years, but damn, curses like that really happen.”
“C-Cain… th-that was?”
“Yeah, one of the super unlucky labyrinth curses. Most can be cured at the aid station, and some are just bad habits. Don’t worry too much.”
“What?”
“Curses don’t happen every trip, either. Getting one at all is rare as hell—like getting hit by lightning outta nowhere. That guy just had the worst luck.”
“...”
Nearby, the woman explorer clutched the chunks of her boyfriend’s remains, sobbing. Her party stood grim-faced.
Then three masked figures approached, lugging huge coffin-like boxes on their backs. The cleanup crew.
“No!!! Leave my Joel… Joel alone!!!”
“Mitchell, calm down…”
The party leader and another woman tried pulling her off the body, but she clung tight. They were all similar levels, so she wouldn’t budge.
After a while struggling, the party leader locked eyes with one of the cleanup crew and nodded reluctantly.
One of them circled behind her and jabbed a needle into her neck.
Stab!
“Guh!”
Thud!
She rolled her eyes back and collapsed. He extended a hand to the leader.
“Hoo…”
Jingle—
The scowling leader pulled a silver coin from his pocket and handed it over. The cleanup crew got to work collecting.
The corpse was too bulky for one coffin now, so they hacked it into pieces, distributing them evenly into the boxes. They poured a potion over the bloodstained floor.
Sizzle—
The stench of melting blood and flesh wafted up as the floor cleaned itself spotless. The crew slowly headed toward the aid station.
“Wh-what the hell was that?”
“Oh, the cleanup crew. They handle murder scenes in the city or collect bodies of explorers who rampage and die from beastification curses like that.”
“R-really?”
“They even chop ’em up if they’re too big to fit.”
I glanced over. Roy was ghostly pale, shaking all over. But Tanya and Robin seemed… fine?
In that split second as I turned, I caught them exchanging knowing smiles.
‘Ah…!’
Tanya, the supposed party leader with zero labyrinth knowledge. Roy, dragged along like he didn’t want to be here. Robin openly groping Tanya in front of him like he owned her, while they’d splurged on brand-new gear.
And Roy couldn’t even rebel—he didn’t even think to. The picture was clear.
Reminded me of that chick from my past life who pushed her husband to die for the insurance payout so she could remarry me.
I’d gone full dark route post-divorce, sleeping with married women and all, but drew the line at murder. Turns out she tried the same with some other side guy and got caught. Shoulda known.
That smile Tanya and Robin shared? Identical to hers when she looked at me.
In that case… I definitely had to save Roy. Better he lives getting cucked by me than dies unjustly, right?